Wednesday, June 30, 2010

A (School) Year in Review

I thought that getting my master's degree in one year would be the most stressful season of my adult life thus far. And then came teaching at High Tech High. When that job came, my blog stopped. And now that it is summer, I have decided to start it again, because:

-why not.

-I did enjoy having a blog.

-I have free time.

-I like journaling, and this makes me do it more.

-it's summer!!!

Here is who I have been hanging out with this past year:

That's me and my students in case you couldn't tell. It's our official team picture.

By the time I was approaching the end of my master's degree in Peace and Justice Studies, I knew that I wanted to go back into teaching high school to try to create and implement some type of social justice curriculum. I got this amazing job at High Tech High Chula Vista teaching 10th grade humanities, which focuses on the world, so it was the perfect opportunity for me. It was in theory my dream job.

And then I started it. The beginning of the school year was more challenging than anything else I have experienced in my professional life thus far. I was completely overwhelmed, exhausted, and I felt like a failure. After a few months, I won most of the students over and began to feel like less of a failure, but I pretty much felt exhausted and overwhelmed the entire year. And now it's over, and I guess I did land my dream job after all.

I can't imagine a more challenging job, and I don't know how long I will be able to do it, but for now, teaching students about the world around them, developing empathy within them, forming relationships with them, and empowering them to make a difference in the world around them is my dream job. Even with the insomnia, emotional breakdowns, and lack of time for a social life that comes with this career, I feel privileged to be able to call myself a teacher.

hello.

My name is Brooke and I live in San Diego, California. I am a mother, teacher, traveler, runner, hiker, explorer of my city, social justice seeker, and one of my favorite hobbies is capturing life through my camera lens. I use this space for the little and big things in life that bring me joy.